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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Zealand Mountain, Mt. Guyot, West Bond, Mt. Bond, Bondcliff, NH
Trails
Trails: Zealand Road, Zealand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Spur, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Lincoln Woods Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Monday, January 27, 2020
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes:  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes, Light Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: All are either bridged or otherwise no big deal. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes:  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes:  
Bugs
Bugs:  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: Many many thanks to Cathy and Mark for the car spot this morning!

Congratulations to Alex for gridding out January!

Zealand Road and Zealand Trail were packed enough for microspikes. Solid base with an inch or so of new snow on top.

Twinway to Zeacliff also packed, but one to three inches of new snow. We used microspikes because we knew the snowshoes would need to go on at Zeacliff and likely stay on all day (drifts up top). We saved our legs a little by not wearing snowshoes up to Zeacliff (we left footprints but did not posthole...and our prints are likely filled back in by now anyway).

Snowshoes went on at Zeacliff and stayed on the rest of the day. Trail up top, from Zeacliff to Bondcliff, was gone due to new snow and drifting. We took a wrong turn for maybe twenty feet or so by Zeacliff where it’s all open, but we quickly got back on track. Alex broke trail to Zealand, then Sage broke trail from Zealand to the West Bond Spur. We all kind of broke trail going over to West Bond....and we took some scenic routes...but we figured it out eventually and made it up there. I broke trail up Bond.

We saw Rick’s prints as we descended Bondcliff - I was grateful for them as it made route-finding in the dark on the way out very easy.

The wind was fierce on Guyot and extra fierce between Bond and Bondcliff (but tame on Bondcliff itself). We got blasted with gusts that lifted all three of us off our feet, and the wind was full of ice pellets. It was like being caught in a bad hailstorm that was blowing sideways.

No views today, but visibility was just enough for cairn-to-cairn above treeline hiking.

It was a good day.  
Name
Name: TrishAlexSage 
E-Mail
E-Mail:  
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2020-01-27 
Link
Link: https:// 
Bookmark and Share Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense.

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